IF you have an SLR (Single Lens Reflex) Camera like a Canon EOS, Pentax ZX, or Nikon N series, Here's a compelling reason to hang on to it before you consider "going digital".
A "point and shoot" camera typically does not take pictures as good as an SLR for one main reason-optics. An SLR usually has far superior optics, which is what provides the detail of a photograph. Digital SLR's are on the market now, but they start in the high $2K range, which is way too rich for my blood.
YOU CAN TURN YOUR SLR INTO A GREAT "DIGITAL" CAMERA FOR 6 BUCKS A ROLL. Here's how I do it. I buy a 4 pack of Fuji 100 film l at Walmart for 5 bucks and turn in the 1 dollar coupon inside the box. This comes out to a buck a roll (100 speed film is much sharper than 200 or 400 speed, and a lens marked with the number "3.5" or less for its aperture will work well with 100 speed film in most conditions). Then I shoot the roll and for 5 bucks I mail it in to snapfish for development. Within a week, I have my pictures mailed back in print and negative form, and they also scan the whole roll digitally into a web album ! You can then order extra prints or share the photos with friends because it is now a "digital" photo. Typical resolution on the digital archive is 2 megapixels, which is good enough for an 8x10 print.
This is a great way to share group photos as well as get a digital archive of all your photos !
Here's some other reasons to hang on to your "film" SLR for a few more years:
Digital SLR's "crop" the image about 30 percent smaller than film cameras. This is because the CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Sensor) or CCD (Charged Capture Device) used to capture the image in a digital camera is smaller than the dimensions of a 35mm negative. This means that if you used the same wide angle lens on a digital SLR and film SLR that you would have about 30 percent narrower "field of view" on the captured image. This is a major bummer if you are taking landscape shots.
Printing digital photos is still expensive. I last saw photo paper at Costco for 20 to 25 cents a page. Getting 4x6 photos is typically cheaper than 20 cents per shot.
Also, you can get "pro" features on a film SLR for under $250 now. Multi-exposure, Depth-of-Field Preview, 6 segment metering, and many other advanced options which used to be available on Film SLR's costing over $500 just a few years ago. Now, due to the gaining popularity of digital, film SLR's have become a bargain - and so has the film.